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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why was Smith upset about the path Tina de Vega took in life?

2. What is the minimum height for a fireman in New York?

3. What did the firefighters discover after the police had left the station in Chapter 6?

4. Why was Smith concerned about striking for better working conditions?

5. How was the bleeding woman who ran into the station for help injured in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Smith suggest that perhaps even with guidance, South Bronx resident Tina de Vega may still have ended up on drugs and prostituting herself?

2. How did contemplating the changing seasons make it easier for Smith to deal with the dangers of his job?

3. How did the firefighters react to the call in Chapter 7 in which they tended to a man who almost overdosed on drugs?

4. Is the poverty seen by Dennis Smith in the South Bronx different than the poverty in which he grew up?

5. In what way can the training firemen undergo never be completely sufficient?

6. Why did Smith view being a firemen as a sign of success when he was a child?

7. How did Smith convince himself of the need to respond to all calls when he found himself getting fed up with the arson incidents?

8. In what key way does Smith say the modern firefighting exams are different from those of the past?

9. How did Dennis Smith feel as a child when the welfare inspector visited his family?

10. Why had the system of safety inspections changed so radically?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 2, a young boy was injured when a driver known for hot-rodding sped through the neighborhood; the driver was beaten by the gathered crowd before being rescued by police. Smith pointed out that while the boy never cried, the driver was weeping in the police car because he was worried he wouldn't be protected. How did the firefighters react to the man's attitude? In what way is physical pain sometimes easier to handle than mental pain? Does knowing you have been guilty of a crime cause pain? Did the man's crying indicate that he felt remorse for what he had done or was it simply cowardice? Is it ever easy to face up to despicable acts?

Essay Topic 2

Some of the South Bronx children, including Tina de Vega, occasionally visited Engine Co. 82 when they were younger. Why do you think these children made these visits to talk to Smith and the other firemen? Were they simply bored? Were they looking for some sort of adult guidance? Were they reaching out to the adult world?

Essay Topic 3

When he was a child, Smith's mother made him hide the family television set when the welfare inspector came to visit because she was afraid they would not receive extra funding for winter coats. He describes the visit as tension-filled as the family tried to make the right impression. Why did he find this sort of visit humiliating? What kind of image of his family did Smith get when they had to accept random visits from city officials to prove that they were sufficiently poor to warrant help?

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